Letter
from Phuket, Thailand
We
had a wonderful summer on aeroplanes rather than boats and the visit to
China
was the highlight of our travels around the
Far East
mainly because it was very different to what I expected. We arrived in
Darwin
in September to rejoin the rally at the time the East Timor crisis erupted and
Darwin
was buzzing with troops, UN Personnel and press with no accommodation, soap or
condoms to be found anywhere! The people of
Darwin
were so friendly and the place so very spacious. We were taken out to lunch, to
dinner, on day trips and even lent a car, all because we went to play bowls at
Darwin Bowling Club. It was quite a wrench to leave
Australia
and set sail for
Bali
.
We
were unable to get cruising permits until Bali, so that we did not visit Kupang
in
West Timor
. Because of that we did not visit some of the more Eastern Indonesian islands,
but we did come across an Australian marine reserve about 4 days out of
Darwin
where we stopped for two glorious days. It is called Ashmore Reef and was 3
sandy islands and reef surrounding a very large lagoon with the highest
incidence and variety of sea snakes and turtles nesting on the sandy beaches all
the year round. It is run by 3 Australian wardens who made us very welcome as
normally they only see refugees demanding asylum.
We
arrived in
Bali
on llth October after a week at sea. It was lovely to receive mail and news
from home and meet up with our fellow travellers. We spent 10 days in
Bali
visiting various parts of the island and left the day the results for the
President of Indonesia were announced. As we motored up the East side of the
island, we noticed many fires on the land and decided it must have been an
auspicious day for cremations in the Buddhist calendar, but when we tried to
anchor off Pedang, we were advised to keep well away by the harbour master as
Mrs. Megawati (who is Balinese) had not won the election and the people were
rioting and setting fire to garages and houses. However, later on that day she
was made Vice President and the rioting ceased.
We
anchored off a group of 3 small islands north of Lambok and liked the place so
much we spent 5 days there. The only form of transport was pony and trap and the
local people were very friendly. We went by local launch to the mainland of
Lambok and did an island tour. We became involved in a local wedding which was
very colourful and exciting and involved 2 days of celebrations. We then started
heading west along the long chain of Indonesian islands stopping at some very
remote and fascinating islands along the way. They were mostly islands that were
visited only once a month by ferry and hardly ever saw any tourists, so we were
quite an unusual occurrence for them and were followed everywhere we went by
crowds of people wanting to touch us. On one island we found a farmer who could
speak a few words of English and with whom we managed to indicate we would like
to buy chicken or fish. He eventually stopped a truck and turned it round and
gestured for us to get in which we did - along with half the village. We must
have driven about 5 miles before coming to a market with live scrawny chickens
tied together by their feet. The thought of taking live birds feathers and all
back with us was a bit too much so we eventually bargained for some fish with
about 30 other villagers joining in the bargaining. We then were given chairs to
sit in the local 'supermarket" to wait for the truck to return. The
'supermarket' did a wonderful trade as everyone kept coming to say hello and buy
goods from the shop owner. We finally got back to where the boat was along with
about 40 people by now, having paid for them all to go to the next village they
followed us out to the dinghy and stood waving in water up to their knees until
we got back to the yacht. We had many experiences like this trying to buy fresh
foods and learnt enough basic words of Indonesian to bargain for food. One of
the islands was a resort hotel with no guests as the guests only arrive at
weekends from Jakarta so we were made very welcome there and even had a shower
in one of the resort bungalows.
We
arrived in
Singapore
to be taken out of the water to be fitted with a new prop. shaft in the superb
Raffles Marina. Everything about it was 5 star, efficient and very friendly. We
had 2 weeks there waiting for spares and it was an extremely comfortable 2
weeks. We were even dined by the Manager of the marina on our last night there
and regally entertained in a private room with an eleven course Chinese meal.
We
came back to earth by sailing up the west coast of
Malaysia
visiting Malacca, Port Dickson,
Kuala Lumpur
, Pangkor and finally Lankaui. AU very interesting but Langkaui was the
favourite with superb scenery giving us a taste of what was to come in
Thailand
.
The
islands around Phuket are fantastic with numerous rocks coming straight out of
the sea. Some have caves connecting the sea to inland lakes and others have the
most perfect silica sand. AU have trees growing from any crevice or nook. We had
a lovely Christmas BBQ on Phi Phi island with the best T-bone steaks since we
left
England
, and home made sorbets or fresh fruit. New Year was at Ao Nang near Krabi with
a wonderful buffet and spectacular fireworks from a barge in the sea.
Surprise,
Surprise - on 1.1.00 the world hasn't come to an end - the GPS works, the radio
works and the autohelm. Life goes on as before and on 4th January we
leave for
Sri Lanka
.
Jan Adams
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Annual
General Meeting
Post Graduate
Centre Update
Steps
are being taken to safeguard the Post Graduate Centre.
Concern
was raised at the AGM over the position of the Centre once the Worcestershire
Trusts are merged. It is feared that the main educational facility will be
centred at
Worcester
and that the other facilities might be demoted or even closed - especially in
view of the changes to General Practice educational requirements.
We
were reminded that Kidderminster Medical Society opened the centre prior to a
requirement for post graduate education, but once post graduate education was a
requirement the trust happily supported the infrastructure, secretarial support
etc. of the centre.
It
was agreed that we should 'Exert pressure on the appropriate authorities to
maintain and indeed improve our existing post graduate functions'. The Society's
Executive Committee will start acting on this problem in the near future.
Roll of Honour
The
Roll of Honour being a list of all past members of the Society has now been
completed by Mrs Ball. Inevitably some names may have been excluded and
therefore members are asked to check the list which will be with the Post
Graduate secretary. If there are any absent names we would like to hear about
them.
Eventually,
it is hoped that the Roll of Honour will be kept in a bound volume in the Post
Graduate Centre.
At
the Annual General Meeting Mrs Ball was thanked most sincerely by the members
for all the hard work she put into this project.
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An
unlikely assortment of walkers assembled early on a grey morning under
threatening clouds - some in wellies and anoraks more used to the garden than to
Long Mynd - and some almost ready to tackle Everest, and everything in between.
David
Malcomson was to escort the later more leisurely group, but had prepared copies
of a suggested route. This was discarded by the keener element in favour of an
even more vigorous circuit, going up Ashes Hollow. Despite much chattering in
the ranks, the occasional stop to shed layers of clothes as the sun broke
through, and a little loitering at
the back for refreshments, we all managed to follow the leaders (easily
distinguished by their enthusiasm
and colourful rucksacs sporting lots of really useful looking pockets and straps
and gadgets!
We
successfully climbed up the wet and slippery track, some particularly
treacherous parts providing opportunities for helping hands and the forging of
quite a team spirit to the summit. Any
slight grumblings about the extra detour to the viewpoint were quickly quelled
by the wonderful scenery. The general feeling of exhilaration and achievement
carried us happily downhill to the Long Mynd Hotel.
The stragglers who had not
been paying attention properly were saved from the ignomony of getting lost at
the last by the fortuitous arrival of the second group, making a very boisterous
descent to lunch. The hotel seemed not the least phased by some unorthodox use
of their cloakroom by those not wishing to dine in mud splattered apparel, and
served a most welcome and hearty meal.
As
the views from the dining room disappeared under lashing rain, our appreciation
of the day increased. When's the
next one, please?
Rambling
Correspondent
,
Hilary Boyle
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1997
– 98
President’s
Charity Donation
Dr Chris Smith
chose as his charity donation for his year and organisation based on
Worcestershire called FOAG (Worcestershire Farmers Overseas Action Group). They
represent a group of farmers in the county who have become involved in assisting
with farming projects in
Uganda
. Their most recent appeal project was to re-stock Teso, in eastern
Uganda
, with Oxen. Included in this
issue is part of an information sheet produced by FOAG and, after having read
it, we are sure that you will agree that our donation of £300 is money very
well spent.
FOAG
Summer Appeal
Extension
of the oxen re-stocking project,
Teso
,
Uganda
. Teso
lies in central eastern
Uganda
. It has a high rural population whose source of income comes almost exclusively
from agriculture, with many people living at a subsistence level. This income
has to pay for food, housing, healthcare and education for the whole family.
Increased food production is the only viable key to a better standard of living,
where all the children in a family might receive an education and medical help
would be possible. The provision of a pair of oxen and a plough can make this
difference to a family in Teso. One man with a pair of oxen and a plough can
break an acre of land in 2 days, whereas to break the land by hand would take
him10 days.
A success story for
Uganda
.
The
Teso Oxen Re-Stocking Project is a real success story. Our original aim was to
provide 100 pairs of oxen to benefit 400 families. So far, after generous
donations from our Associate Membership and Rotary Clubs, we have provided a
total of 66 pairs of oxen to benefit 264 families. 20 pairs have gone to Orungo
sub-county, 23 pairs of oxen are working in Katine and 23 pairs in Olwelai. The
excellent veterinary services provided by Dr Morris Ocweda from
Arapai
Agricultural
College
have been vital in keeping the oxen healthy despite some East Coast Fever. The
farmers of Orungo, who were the first to be loaned oxen, have now re-paid the
bulk of the loan and we now hope to be able to extend the scheme into Apapai and
Amoru parishes about 30 miles north west of Soroti.
So what is the need?
John
Eceru, the Ugandan Administrator of the scheme knows the area well and has
reported that these two parishes have high levels of poverty. Farmers grow
millet, cassava, sorghum, beans, sesame and sweet potatoes, but with very low
yields. Children are increasingly dropping out of school because there is barely
enough food produced to feed the family, let alone have any extra to sell to
cover school fees.
The
need still remains great in the Teso area. There is little input from
Non-Governmental Organisations and FOAG, with the Teso Oxen Re-Stocking Project,
is a major donor. The farmers of Teso have shown their commitment, their
enthusiasm and their ability to respond to change to help themselves by entering
fully into the co-operative spirit of the programme. Families share their oxen
and plough, they use them to great effect, increasing food production and
marketing their produce so that not only are their children educated and able to
receive medical care, but the loan on the oxen and plough is repaid, thus
enabling other families in the area to benefit.
£300
will buy a pair of oxen, a single furrow plough and 4 months free veterinary
care.
Chris
Smith
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Members
who did not go missed a treat on the Dawn Chorus Visit to
Wyre
Forest
At
4.30a.m. On a dull but dry June morning seventeen members arrived at the Wyre
forest Visitors Centre, Long Bank, Bewdley, with the sunrise almost upon them.
They were greeted by Neville Wilde, a forest warden, who directed us deep into
the forest until we reached the Dowles Brook. From here we took a walk of about
3 miles experiencing the sounds of the forest at dawn.
Ornithological
novices were delighted by the variety of birdsong at this time - the louder
sounds of Robin, Wren, Chifchaff, Blackbird and Songthrush had to be dismissed
as we listened for the sounds of Pied
Flycatcher, Woodwarbler, Meadow warbler, and unsuccessfully tried to see
Kingfishers in the dawning. We also
heard the early morning Cuckoo.
Having returned to the
Visitor Centre, we were joined by a further party which had left at 6.00 am led
by Rosemary Winnall. They had enjoyed a similar but shorter experience to
ourselves in the
Forest
.
A
well deserved and hearty breakfast was enjoyed by all.
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On
Saturday 11th March some thirty members and guests of the society were treated
to a superb evening’s entertainment at
Birmingham
's Symphony Hall.
On
arrival we were treated to a substantial buffet and drinks in an "executive
suite", hospitality being provided by some of Dave Malcolmson's many
contacts. We then moved to our seats
in the "grand tier" which gave us an excellent overview of the
performing area.
The
opera - The Barber of Seville, - performed by the Welsh National Opera was, on
this occasion, done in a ‘concert ' version, with minimal props and no scenery
or costumes (apart from a hat). Unusually,
for opera, the orchestra was centre stage and the soloists, chorus etc.
performed to the side, on the stage apron and at the back
The
Welsh National Opera and orchestra have probably never made a more glorious
sound largely because of the concert being in Symphony Hall with its magnificent
acoustics. And as never before we were much more aware of the orchestra (which
is normally hidden in the "pit") and the conductor Carlo Rizzi.
Having
been originally disappointed that this evenings performance was to be a concert
version, in the end many of us were thrilled to have experienced this unique
event. Our sincere thanks go to Dave
for organising the event and for the superb sponsored hospitality which we were
afforded.
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I was born and brought up in
Birmingham
, having been evacuated to Claverdon at the height of the war. I spent my school
days in Bromsgrove, following in the footsteps of my brother Joe, as I did at
Birmingham
Medical
School
. I qualified in 1963 and proceeded to undertake house jobs in the city. I then
joined my father's practice in Edgbaston which is now the practice of the
Professor of General Practice, Richard Hobbs, at Belle View.
After eighteen months with
father I opted to return to the hospital and Anaesthetics at the Q.E. I
considered continuing in the speciality but decided to look for a practice where
I could combine both interests. I actually advertised myself in the BMJ and
subsequently received a visit from an exceptionally large GP who was looking for
partners to form a group practice. I first met John Ball as he lowered himself
through the doorway of my flat and I joined him in 1967.
There
then began a long and happy career in
Kidderminster
with, at first, John and Jimmy Jethwa. It was a small list of 4,500 patients in
small premises on the corner of
Connaught Avenue
, later expanding to 10,500 patients in 1968 when we acquired the list of the
Lurring practice in
Church Street
. We moved to spacious premises at
Northumberland Avenue
and took on more (and more) partners. The practice has developed over the years
into its present form, incorporating all the latest in staff, equipment and
ideas!
When
I arrived in
Kidderminster
the hospital had recently appointed it's first consultant anaesthetist and
there was no junior staff. All the nights and weekends were covered by myself
and other clinical assistants! There followed many happy years combining general
practice with nights 'on call’ for anaesthetics.
After
a gap of thirty years or so, I have started to take cello lessons again, having
first played at school, and I am hoping to improve my technique! I play in the
West Midland Light orchestra which plays mainly swing and also in
the small Stourbndge Classical Orchestra.
I now play golf at Cleobury, having played from childhood but having neglected
it for many years, with the other 'bandits' from KGII, Paul BrothwelL John
Murray, John Reddy and Reg Johnstone to name but a few.
My
other new interest is a rather expensive 'dog kennel'. We have bought an all mod
cons caravan so that we may take our two large dogs, awav for their holidays.
I
am still an active member of the local BASICS squad which has been in operation
for almost twenty years now. We are not called out as often these days as we
were at the outset because the paramedics deal with most incidents. We still
have our uses in cases of entrapment and so on. I also do the occasional shift
for the Birmingham CARE team which operates an emergency ambulance car in the
city centre on weekend nights.
I have watched KGH develop and grow over the
past thirty years into the
excellent centre which it now is and I find it both very sad and very
frustrating that it is under such threat. One of the greatest pleasures of
working in the area has been the unique relationship which exists between the
hospital and general practice, at all levels, and I would be very sad to see it
disappear- I hope to spend many more happy years here in the
Wyre
Forest
area.
Dick
Herbert.
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